Hiking & Distance Statistics

It took me until Kincora Hostel in Tennessee to really have an understanding that I had developed "trail legs". Leaving from Bob Peoples' hostel allowed me to spend the night 35 miles from Damascus, VA, a distance which I intended to hike in a single day. Having been stressed out by a "long" 23 mile day not that long before, I was almost sure the 35 miles would kill me. Leaving at 5 AM and arriving in Damascus at 4 in the afternoon, I proved to myself an unknown ability to hike considerable distances at even speeds. From then on I challenged myself to hike at least 20 miles a day, and ultimately changed the outcome of my hike drastically. I flew through the mid-Atlantic section of the trail, spending a great amount of time with like-speed hikers Pneumo and Jellybean, and putting myself a month ahead of schedule. Anyone who has read the blog, or even the final blog post - My Love Affair with the Appalachian Trail - knows that I slowed down for a while in the New England area to hike with a great group of friends before then taking off again to conquer Maine. My 150 day plan ended up a 109 days of hiking, sprinkled with only 5 zero days, for a 114 day thru-hike.

Here are the stats. "Distances" were the total daily walked, a column that adds up to well over the 2,185.3 miles of the trail, due to side trails into town, shelters, mountain peaks, fire towers, etc. Grey boxes denote zero days taken. Please forgive the TN/NC denotation, the trail must cross that state line a thousand times before finally settling into Tennessee!